I have 2 12" Subs in a Bandpass enclosure and i was wondering why my subs didnt hit all frequencies well. For example when the bass changes in descending order i hear the first few bass notes then it seems like the last one or two come from the door speakers only? Is it that the gains on my amplifier are adjusted wrong? Or Could it be the subs or the fact im only giving them half the RMS rated?
no its the box. it called a bandpass for a reason. A bandpass enclosure can sound good and give you a flat response but most of the generic bandpass enclosures are not designed for a flat response. They are designed to impress you in the stores. This means that they are built to produce a large peak at some frequency near 60hz. These enclosures will work well with something like rap music but generally won't sound good with other types of music. If you use a bandpass enclosure, it should be designed specifically for your speakers. http://www.bcae1.com/ got this from here.
if it is prefab bandpass the reason it does not sound good is because it is too small and tuned too high. Also 4th orders are not designed to make a large peak at any frequency...the chamber volumes and tuning can be manipulated to give whatever response you want. Either a large peak for a fart box or a flat response for nice SQ.
The subs came with the box Prefab and i do listen to rap. However a friend told me to re-adjust my gains because that is why the bass cuts off at certain frequencies. Is there any way to pick up some of those notes better?
the gains have nothing to do with how the box plays certain freqs,that may just start to clip the amp. you may be able to readjust the crossover tho. that my only help a little maybe its set wrong. try crossing it over at 80 or 100hz and lower.
there is no way to change the response of the enclosure. If you want to play a wider range build a new box. The current enclosure is very poorly designed and constructed = poor sound.
Just curious but ss you may kno the box is regular shape with 4 turned ports on the top with a plexi glass cover on the front. What effect on the SQ and o SPL would removing the plexi glass cover have on the subs?
it would sound like complete crap. You would then have the subs in an even worse enclosure. around .5 cu ft tuned to between 50-60 Hz. There is no hope for that enclosure...sorry son. But it was doomed when the manufacturer built it.
if you want an all around good sounding box then build a sealed box. i know an SQ guy that runs 2 12's in a sealed enclosure in his hatch in a 4 runner and it sounds great......thats when he cranks the bass,lol. being a SQ guy he only blends the bass into the music. anyways if you want good sound and if you can make it, go sealed.
Im more a boom guy so i think im going to buy a Ported box that works well with my subs. Well thanks all for your input and help!
prefab ported enclosures suck too my friend...go for whatever makes you happy though. IMO it is a waste of 100 bucks or so when you can have 10 times the performance and satisfaction with a custom enclosure.
usually shops charge out the ass for "custom boxes" when they just look at the "manufacture's recommended specs" and usually those sound like crap. For example...Pioneer says to use one of their 12 inch 1000 watt rms subs in 1 cu ft ported with a 3" diameter port. Right off the bat I know this will sound like crap.
if you were near me i know a few dozen folks that can make a box for less than a shop will. i payed 140 for my box and am soooo happy i went to a pro.
band pass's have too many ports to remove the cover. my experience is that O ports are better than slotted and you only want 1 port per sub or chamber n ports are way better than sealed by far n depending the subs specs. on ports that have the horn shapes sound even better and take some of the stress off the subs.
some times you need more than 1 port to make it work. if you need a certain length and you dont have the room you need to have more.
read up some more on ported enclosures first...there are no set number of ports for bandpass enclosures. Round ports and rectangular ports do not differ much...only in some laminar flow. Saying ported is bettered than sealed depends on the driver and application...some drivers do not perform well at all in ported applications. As for flares on ports it helps reduce the turbulence and port noise...but to actually incorporate a horn loading takes a little more than just a flare. Also in horn loaded enclosures power handling is raised and cone excursion reduced...there is actually more pressure and stress on subwoofers in horn loaded enclosures than others.